Thursday

Sep 13, 2018 at 5:30 PM

On Wednesday, Simmons told the Palm Beach Post she did not want the organization’s employees wearing the popular athletic brand’s sneakers in the office.

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Big Dog Ranch Rescue on Thursday denied it had implemented a controversial ban on Nike sneakers. Instead, a spokesman said the founder’s edict to replace employees’ Nike sneakers with alternate brands was a “personal offer” and not an official policy.

On Wednesday, Simmons told the Palm Beach Post she did not want the organization’s employees wearing the popular athletic brand’s sneakers in the office.

“I don’t want to see Nike shoes around our facility,” Simmons said at the time. “I don’t want to see them at Big Dog Ranch.”

But after a social media uproar on Thursday, Big Dog backpeddled on the Nike ban. Scott also said Simmons would pay at her own expense to replace Nike sneakers worn by employees if they want. But there was no requirement that they do so.

“If people don’t want to participate, they don’t have to,” said Big Dog spokesman Chase Scott.

And if volunteers wear Nikes, or people wanting to adopt dogs are wearing Nikes, that’s OK, too, Scott said.

That was a concession from the strident and adamant position Simmons had taken a day earlier.

Simmons’ ire at Nike stemmed from the brand’s new marketing campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, the NFL star who launched a kneel-down protest during the playing of the national anthem at sporting events.

“I think it’s extremely disrespectful to the brave men and women who have gone and fought for this country,” Simmons said of athletes who joined the protest.

She added: “You live in America. This is your country. Respect your national anthem and respect your flag. If you don’t like this country and the way things are run, move to another country, but don’t disrespect our national anthem.”

In the same interview with the Post, Simmons said she had told employees who own Nike sneakers to provide her with their shoe sizes, and she would buy them another brand of sneakers. She said all her employees agreed to her rule.

A Big Dog worker who requested anonymity said employees were forbidden to wear the brand on the charity’s campus, and if they were found wearing Nike sneakers, they would be sent home.

The short-lived Nike ban made some uncomfortable. “I think that’s mixing politics” with work, said one employee before the Nike sneaker ban was lifted.

Big Dog board member Danny Glassman on Wednesday said he was not aware of Simmons’ no-Nike decree. But he said he didn’t think it would turn off donors.

“In today’s day and age, people get upset over a lot of different things,” Glassman said. “But I think on something like this, it is the right thing to do.”

But Simmons’ statements subsequently elicited a torrent of criticism on social media that included donors, volunteers and members of the public.

The backlash overshadowed the group’s own effort to rescue dogs from shelters in the Carolinas in advance of Hurricane Florence. Big Dog Ranch Rescue sent vans to North Carolina and South Carolina this week to collect shelter dogs and bring them to Florida — and out of the path of the dangerous storm.

The uproar also cast even more attention on Nike’s marketing campaign.

The brand — once known for its “Just Do It” marketing slogan — made former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Kaepernick the face of its 30th anniversary advertising for its “Believe in Something” campaign.

Nike’s decision was itself controversial, and sparked anger this month from a broad spectrum of the public, including conservative groups and military veterans organizations.

They are upset at the protest movement sparked when Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem. That effort has mushroomed into weekly protests by National Football League players also kneeling while the Star Spangled Banner is played to protest excessive use of force by police brutality officers resulting in the deaths of unarmed black Americans.

One of the most vocal critics of the kneeling protest has been President Trump, whose daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, co-chaired a March 10 Big Dog Ranch fundraising luncheon at Mar-a-Lago.

Big Dog Ranch, the largest no-kill dog shelter in the Southeast United States, raised more than $1 million at the “Wine, Women & Shoes” luncheon at Trump’s club on Palm Beach. Two more upcoming Big Dog Ranch fundraisers are planned for Trump properties in Palm Beach and Jupiter.

When Nike announced its ad campaign with Kaepernick, Trump tweeted: “Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts.”

The controversial Nike campaign has prompted some people to post videos on social media of shoes being burned.

But the backlash hasn’t hurt Nike sales: In fact, sales soared Labor Day weekend, according to Edison Trends, a consumer research firm.

Others noted Simmons’ passionate support of the U.S. military and her plan to start a program pairing veterans with dogs. “Lauree is a true patriot, and I think she views what Nike is doing as unpatriotic,” said Greg Coleman, Big Dog’s lawyer and a longtime Simmons friend.

Still, Steven Schwarzberg, a West Palm Beach employment lawyer, said banning Nike for the stated reasons could lead to unintended consequences.

“What if white employees turn in their sneakers and black employees don’t?” Schwarzberg said. “And then a month later a black employee gets fired because (he’s told his) productivity went down but the real reason is, he didn’t turn in his sneakers?”

Schwarzberg said employers would be wise to stay away from hot-button topics, such as sex, politics and religion, else they risk claims from employees “against whom adverse employment actions are taken later.”

Simmons has greatly expanded Big Dog Ranch. Thanks to donations, the rescue recently opened a facility in Loxahatchee Groves that can accommodate 500 dogs and 100 puppies. A new veterinary clinic opened two weeks ago.

Continued public support is crucial for Big Dog’s programs.

An annual fall fundraiser will be held for the first time at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, on Nov. 16. Simmons said she moved the event there because Trump National can accommodate 500 people, more than the Jupiter Beach Resort, which can host only 350 guests.

And next March 9, Mar-a-Lago will again host the Palm Beach luncheon. Like last year, the venue expects to sell 700 tickets at $350 each.

This wasn’t the first time Big Dog has tangled with thorny issues tied to the president, however.

In August 2017, Big Dog announced it was pulling its luncheon from Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s controversial comments following the neo-Nazi and white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Va.

The group said the decision was made “to focus on our core mission of helping animals.”

But two months later, Big Dog did an about face, revealing it was holding its luncheon at Mar-a-Lago after all.

At the time, Simmons said the move back to Mar-a-Lago “isn’t about politics. This is about the dogs and the work we do. And quite frankly, if people want to take a political stance, then they don’t care about what we do and the animals.”